Remember Me? | Sophie Kinsella | Review

Sunday, 18 November 2012

Remember Me? | Sophie Kinsella | Review

“Women need chocolate. It's a scientific fact.” source

Sophie Kinsella is best known for her Confessions of a Shopaholic series. I’m here, however, to tell you about one of her stand out, stand-alone novels. I first picked up Remember Me? while spending a few nights at my grandparents house. It was in my nan’s bookshelf and the bright yellow cover stood out to me among the other books. It took me less than a day to finish as I found myself completely absorbed.

It’s 2004 and Lexie is a 20 something woman from England who just missed out on a bonus at the end of financial year. To drain her sorrows away, Lexie goes out for a night on the town with her girlfriends. After being stood up by her “boyfriend” Dave and being caught in the rain with no taxi, things aren't looking good for Lexie. This is when she takes a tumble and is knocked unconscious. Lexie wakes up in a hospital room only to find her life is perfect, oh and it’s 2007. It turns out Lexie went on to become a successful businesswoman who went from almost poor to super rich. It’s only when a recent knock on the head rendered her unconscious that she loses the last 3 years of her life. The last thing she remembers? Being stood up by Dave.

Lexie sets out on a path to uncover what she’s been up to in 3 years, who her almost unnaturally good-looking husband really is and why her life took such a massive change of direction. The book leaves readers constantly guessing. It becomes clear mid-way into the book that things really aren’t right in Lexie’s world. Readers are inclined to believe a massive climax is nearing, which is true. The resolution of Remember Me? ties up every loose end of Lexie’s life and we’re left with a sense of fulfillment. All the mysteries in Lexie's life are solved.

For me there was a perfect combination of mystery, humour and romance. I have a way of being completely absorbed into a mystery until it's solved. Remember Me? was no exception. It was hard to put this book down at all. After reading a lot more of Sophie Kinsella’s books, it’s pleasant to notice that the majority of her writings follow a similar route. Romance, Mystery and Humour. This book easily made Sophie Kinsella one of my top choices for favourite author.

Recommended For

Any one who enjoys any books from the Chick Lit variety would enjoy this book. This book would definitely appeal to women of a range of ages. If you’ve read any of Sophie’s other works, this is for you too. If you loved any of Sarah Dessen’s books but are looking for something slightly older as you mature, this book is for you.

I have to give Remember Me? a 5 out of 5 stars. It’s pure comical genius.

This review was written by regular reviewer Taylah, get to know her here.
Photos TaylahJoyce

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Billy & Me | Giovanna Fletcher | Review

Monday, 10 June 2013

Billy & Me | Giovanna Fletcher | Review

Billy & Me is the story of Sophie May, a young girl from the English countryside who lives a quiet life with her mother. It’s a quiet life but Sophie’s happy enough. A buzz soon spreads around the sleepy village that Hollywood will be paying a visit to film an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, complete with hot teen idol as the film’s lead. Not that Sophie cares much, she too busy helping run Tea On The Hill, a small cosy tea shop owned by an ever loveable old lady named Molly. In stumbles a boy named Billy Buskin. He’s tall, dark, handsome, utterly charming and of course sweeps Sophie up her feet. Turns out this Billy kid is none other than that teen heartthrob everyone is talking about.

It’s not only Sophie who’s swept up in this small town romance; Billy is quite taken with Sophie and decides to whisk her away from the calm of her country town to the bright lights of the big city of London. Every girl’s dream right? But Sophie’s apprehensive, there’s a little dark in her past that she’s not quite ready to let go of or let the world know about yet.

The rest of the story takes you Sophie coping with the harsh realities of being in the public eye, being away from her family and friends and the strain it takes on her relationship with Billy. A shock to the system wraps up the ending, testing Sophie’s inner strength and pushing her emotions to the limit.

So what’s my verdict?

Billy & Me was gooey and fluffy to the core, full of love-y moments between Sophie and Billy right from the beginning. If I was being honest the first half of the book is very cliché, girl meets boy, they fall in love etc. Things turn a little when Sophie and Billy head into London. It’s not all happy endings, especially when Billy’s career takes off. He’s never home, there’s other girls getting in the way and the malicious reporters. The situation gets worse and worse for Sophie and it’s not until the last few chapters that she really has to step up and take control of her life again.

Like a lot of the chick-lit I read I find myself in two minds about our two leads. Sophie is your typical Mary-Sue-shy-gal-with-a-troubled-backstory kinda heroine, Billy your also typical charming hero. They feel a little two-dimensional at the start, with their romance being the main driver than their common traits. Sophie’s also likes to moan, which would perhaps be acceptable in a young adult novel with a teenage protagonist but Sophie is in her mid-twenties. Sure the situations she’s put in are difficult but not rectifiable or unmanageable if she used her head.

The last few chapters do make you understand why she is the way she is, however, the secret revealed isn’t as shocking as the blurb like to make out though – it’s not a nice secret but it’s not a huge surprise if you read carefully between the lines. There’s a bigger plot twist that definitely made me cry – but I’m a crier – and Sophie’s transformation into something stronger is uplifting. And like most books like this I fell head over heels for the supporting characters, namely the home-y grandmother figure Molly.

All in all, Billy & Me is a light and lovely read for debut author Giovanna Fletcher. Probably best known as the other half of McFLY’s Tom Fletcher, I can imagine some of the finer details of the constant judgement of being the spotlight was drawn from some of her own experiences. The story is much like Sophie herself, simple, sweet, occasionally angsty but heartfelt. For a debut it's awesome and I look forward to seeing more for Giovanna in the future!

Reading Soundtrack:

Rainbow: Colbie Caillat; All About You: McFLY; Everything Has Changed: Taylor Swift ft Ed Sheeran; Paparazzi: Lady Gaga; The Nicest Thing: Kate Nash; Summer Is Over: Jon McLaughlin ft Sara Barielles; Skyscraper: Demi Lovato

For lovers of

Sophie Kinsella, Jill Mansell, Jennifer E. Smith and other such wonderful romantic fluff ^_^

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I've Got Your Number | Sophie Kinsella | Review

Monday, 17 June 2013

I've Got Your Number | Sophie Kinsella | Review

Not only does Poppy loose her engagement ring but she also looses her phone. Talk about having a bad day! No things start to look up when she finds someone else's phone in a bin - working completely fine. So finders keepers as the saying goes. Now as she's desperately searching for her ring, the owner of the phone desperately wants it back. Could this be the start of an interesting friendship?!

Now this book was on my list of books I vowed to read this year, and I was extremely eager I pre ordered it from Amazon and as soon as it arrived I started reading it. I was immediately hooked!

Poppy is a brilliant character who made me laugh so much through this book. She however is not the only interesting character in to pop up. Poppy is engaged to Marcus who was a character I loved to hate. Whilst on the other end of the phone is Sam who from very first contact I was both interested and intrigued by. The conversations between characters were realistic and amusing and much like conversations I have between my own friends.

The story continues, the chaos carries on and the relationships tangle. Like many chic-lit stories there is two guys and one girl and the whole way through the reader is left thinking, who is she going to end up in? I won't give it away - don't worry. However what I will say is that it was a brilliant way to make a decision!

Now if you've read a Sophie Kinsella book before this is definitely one for you, and if you haven't.... where have you been!?!?! Go and get this one, download it or whatever because I'll definitely be reading it again in the near future.

This post was written by regular reviewer Laura, get to know her here.
Image from Goodreads

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Features | Top 5 beach reads

Thursday, 18 June 2015

Features | Top 5 beach reads

Source: http://dreamatico.com/beach.html

I may be a bit premature with this post since it is only June, but it feels like summer is finally here and so I wanted to make a summer themed post! I get bored quickly of sunbathing, so when I go to the beach a book is a must, but I want to be a fairly easygoing book. Here are some of my favourite stereotypical chick lit beach books.

1) Confessions Of A Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
I have to be honest, I have a bit of a soft spot for Sophie Kinsella books, but I think this one will always be my favourite. The main character, Becky, is extremely relatable, if a little stereotypical and the situations she finds herself make for some hilarious reading. Its very easy and quick to read, making it perfect for a relaxing holiday read.

2) An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell
The concept behind this book is amazing. Lola, the main character,is offered £10,000 by her boyfriend's mum to break up with him, and due to personal circumstances she has to accept. The book follows what happens years later when her ex unexpectedly comes back into her life. I fell in love with all the characters in this book, particularly Lola, and there are quite a few plot twists along the way, making for a very enjoyable book.

3) Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
I'm not going to go too much into this because I feel like everyone already knows about or has read this book. If you haven't however, you definitely should. I love the fact that the author incorporated the idea of fanfiction into it as well, it makes the book feel very modern and also makes the main character, Cath, very relatable, as we all know what it feels like to fangirl over something.

4) The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
Whilst I think everyone and their cat has probably seen the film version of this, but a lot of people don't know that it was originally a book. To me this seems like kind of a shame, as its actually a pretty decent book. It follows Andy on her first job as a personal assistant to the editor of a fashion magazine. Her boss, Miranda Preistly, turns out to be not quite what Andy was expecting! If your in to rom coms then this would be a good book to check out,

5) Every Day by David Levithan
If the above books don't appeal to you and you want something a bit more serious then this one might be for you. I have been waiting for an opportunity to slip this into a feature post because I absolutely love this book. In fact, I would go as far as to say it is the best book I have read this year. Every day, A wakes up in a different body. This has never been a problem before, but this changes when she falls in love. Not necessarily what I would consider a stereotypical beach book, but I didn't want this post to be completely full of chick lit/ rom com style books, and this is something a bit different.

Hope everyone's having a great summer!
Katie x

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Elegance | Kathleen Tessaro | Review

Monday, 29 April 2013

Elegance | Kathleen Tessaro | Review

Louise Canova is stuck in a rut. 30-year-old Louise is sick of her dull marriage, sick of being fat, sick of her wardrobe and sick of her life. On the brink of a mid-life existential crisis, she finds a book, not just any book…a book that may solve all of her problems.

That book is an encyclopedia, written by French fashion expert Madame Dariaux, called 'Elegance' and it becomes Louise’s manual for transformation into the Audrey Hepburn/Jackie O/Grace Kelly figure she always wanted to be.

Through the A-Z pages we follow Louise’s ‘transformation’, flashing back to significant moments in her life, her struggles to follow the guide and the consequences and price of changing everything about herself.

So what’s my verdict?

It’s no surprise that I picked up this book. The premise of someone transforming themselves by improving their style and pose is something I’m a sucker for no matter what the medium. But Louise’s transformation certainly isn’t easy. She hurts both herself and those around herself, yet still stands by the book and everything it preaches. She does come to her senses towards the end and like every good chick-lit, there’s a happy-ish ending for all.  ‘Elegance’ taps into that insecurity within each of us through Louise and with the moral of the ‘be careful what you wish for’ attitude.

The book itself won’t change the literary world but I definitely enjoyed reading it. Louise is bumbling – certainly not the most poised person in the world – and her antics are certainly cringe-worthy. It was ‘Elegance’ itself that really fascinated me though. The book Louise picks up is a real A-Z written over 40 years ago by Madame Dariaux herself and after reading Tessaro’s story I was tempted to pick it up for myself. Tessaro manages the mix of both humour and drama, much in the same way Kinsella and Wiesberger, and I’d say this is a much read for any fashion blogger like myself!

Reading soundtrack:

Foundations: Kate Nash; A Change Would Do You Good:  Sheryl Crow; Dress You Up: Madonna; Puttin’ On The Ritz: Fred Astaire; Grace Kelly: Mika; Change: Taylor Swift

For lovers of

Sophie Kinsella, Bridget Jones’ Diary, The Devil Wears Prada and the sartorially inclined.

This post was written by regular reviewer Ria, get to know her here.
*all images (c) Ria Cagampang

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Finding Audrey | Sophie Kinsella | Review

Sunday, 22 May 2016

Finding Audrey | Sophie Kinsella | Review

This book has been on my radar for a while, and when it came out in paperback and it caught my eye whilst shopping once, I knew I had to pick up a copy. Two days to read the book, so what did I think?

Audrey suffers from an anxiety disorder, and it disrupts her daily life. She's making progress with her therapist Dr. Sarah, but then Linus turns up, her brother's gaming teammate. Audrey feels able to talk to Linus and open up with him in a way she's never been able to before. Their friendship deepens and Audrey's recovery speeds up as well. Their new relationship might not just help her, but might help her entire family too.

A lot of YA novels are choosing to write about mental illness or feature a character who suffers with a mental illness. I think this a great thing; it's only ever good to get more people talking about something that affects so many people (1 in 4 people in the UK at least according to Mind). But it's even better when a book is able to do it in a good way. Finding Audrey does it in an amazing way.

Audrey's a really great character, written about in that way where you can empathise with her even if you don't understand her struggle completely, something I'm finding a lot of lately with really good books, especially on mental health (another example of this in mental health books would be with 'Under Rose Tainted Skies' by Louise Gornall.)

But, and I think this is really important, the book isn't exclusively about mental illness. It's a part of who Audrey is, but it's almost like the book is attempting to pull the sunglasses off of Audrey, if you'll pardon my excuse at a pun there. It's also worth remembering for mental illness in general too that a mental illness is only one of many parts that make up a person, and that's well represented in this book.

It depicts the everyday reality for those that do suffer with a mental illness in such an amazing way, showing readers how difficult it really can be, and I hope that this book will help a lot of readers gain a much deeper understanding for how difficult mental illness can be, but also how there can be an end to it.

Plus, Sophie has a great writing style. It may be her first YA novel, but I sincerely hope she chooses to continue writing YA. I'm sure we'd all welcome another YA from her.

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Group Collaboration | Reading Goals & Books We Vow To Read In 2013

Saturday, 19 January 2013

Group Collaboration | Reading Goals & Books We Vow To Read In 2013

As it is the beginning of a new year many of us have been setting ourselves new reading goals for 2013. So, this month we asked you to let us know your personal reading targets and to choose five books or book series you vow to read by the end of 2013.

Every few months throughout the year we will also be checking in with regular reviewers Laura, Francesca, Lucy, Ria & Erin to find out how they are getting on with their 2013 reading challenges set in this post so make sure you keep an eye out for those to see how we are all getting on!

  *The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare, Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli ___________________________________________________________________________________________ *Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver, The Luxe by Anna Godbersen, Insurgent by Veronica Roth, Trapped by Michael Northrop, Wither by Lauren DeStefano ___________________________________________________________________________________________  
  *A Game Of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen, Sever by Lauren DeStefano ___________________________________________________________________________________________  
  *The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick, Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart, The Growing Pains Of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend, Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie, I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella ___________________________________________________________________________________________  

  *The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver, Blog Inc by Joy Deangdeelert Cho, Cross My Heart, Hope To Die by Sara Shepard, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne ___________________________________________________________________________________________


  *Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart, The Skinjacker Trilogy by Neal Shusterman, Requiem by Lauren Oliver, Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, Fractured by Teri Terry ___________________________________________________________________________________________      

  *Any Human Heart by William Boyd, The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger, On The Road by Jack Kerouac, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley ___________________________________________________________________________________________    
  *The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling, Daughter Of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor, Feedback by Robison Wells, Reached by Ally Condie, The Twelve by Justin Cronin ___________________________________________________________________________________________   Don't forget to leave a comment below and tell us your reading goals for 2013! :)     Next month's group collaboration is all about our favourite couples in Fiction! If you'd like to get involved please email or tweet us the name of your favourite fictional couple and tell us a little bit about why you've chosen them.  

Contributors - Cat, Ria, Francesca, Lucy, Laura, Lulu, Anjali, & Erin
All book cover images via goodreads.com

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News Round Up: All Hail Chris Riddell

Tuesday, 16 June 2015

News Round Up: All Hail Chris Riddell

I think by now everyone has heard the news that Chris Riddell was formally announced at a very prestigious ceremony at the British Academy For Film And Television Arts in London last Tuesday as the new Children's Laureate for 2015-2017, taking Malorie Blackman's place which she held from 2013-2015. I was lucky enough to be at the ceremony last Tuesday and met Chris Riddell with my colleagues from The Guardian Children's Books Team, and he proved to me that anyone can draw. In his interview with the site, he said, "It’s a big honour...  I am completely serious about what an important role it is - talking about children’s books and our brilliant legacy of children’s literature in this country and to represent writers and illustrators and readers. I want to have a lot of fun." The full interview with The Guardian (one of the first in the world!) can be found here!

However, no Children's Laureate comes in without another going out, so what were the reactions to Malorie Blackman ending her two years in the role? I think the tweets should speak for themselves...
 

Even though the Children's Laureate announcement has probably been the biggest piece of news from the last month, what else has been happening in the world of books?

Hot Key Books has announced that E. Lockhart shall be touring the UK and Ireland from the 18th-24th June, to celebrate the release of How To Be Bad! On the 18th June, she kicks off her tour in Dublin at Easons on O'Connell Street. Then, on the 20th June she visits Waterstones branches in Oxford, Bath, Cardiff, Bristol and Birmingham. On the 21st she visits Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle. On the 22nd she visits Glasgow, on the 23rd it's Dundee, but visiting schools, and on the 24th she concludes her tour in London. To find out more about her tour click here!

It may not count as book news, but did you know that Oxford University Press has made the hashtag it's word of the year? It's reason for doing something that's been met with a bit of criticism? It's excessive usage in the 500 Words competition. OUP also noticed in the Radio 2 competition entries that the words Facebook, email, mobile, iPod, mp3 and tablet have fallen out of usage. They also found that gender stereotypes were conformed to (girls were more likely to talk about cupcakes but boys were more likely to talk about farting, for example), and that more than half of the top 20 words used were influenced by social media, with Zoella ranking in the top 20. Read more about the findings here!

So what incredible books have been released in the last month?

• Endgame: The Calling by James Frey and Nils Johnson-Shelton (paperback, hardback was out last year!)
• Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
• Lone Wolf by Robert Muchamore
• Theodore Boone: The Fugitive by John Grisham

And that's it from me for this month! Join me in welcoming Chris Riddell as the new Children's Laureate and my next round up is in July! See you then! 

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The Bad Boyfriends Bootcamp | Poppy Dolan | Review

Wednesday, 14 May 2014

The Bad Boyfriends Bootcamp | Poppy Dolan | Review

*image via GoodReads

Molly's little brother Sam is stuck in a love rut. He's tries so hard with women but falls short. Luckily Molly is willing to lend a helping hand and as she waves her metaphorical dating wand, she lands Sam the girl of his dreams and helps him keep the girl too!

Thanks to Sam's success, Molly's single, male friends are soon lining up for her magical dating makeover and, along with her two friends, her entrepreneurial brain gets to work to create The Bad Boyfriend's Bootcamp. But fixing other people's problematic love lives is only half of the story, Molly also has to deal with her successful entrepreneurial mother, a grim looking overdraft thanks to her past failing businesses, and her own lackluster love life.

So what’s my verdict?

As seen in the title, the plot line for this novel is pretty predictable from the get go. Molly herself is a character I've seen in from this genre of book before, she’s a little hopeless with her life lacking in direction despite being the daughter of an extremely successful businesswoman mother. I often found myself frustrated at how shortsighted and selfish she was being, but luckily this is picked up as a major flaw in her personality by her friends as the book goes on.
Her two friends she ropes into the Bad Boyfriends Bootcamp business plan, Josie and Rachel, make nice additions to the story and I actually found myself wanting to read more about their back stories during the novel.

As I've mentioned plotwise, the novel is pretty formulaic right down to the elements of second hand embarrassment, best friend/close family fights, and happy ending romance.
Despite this, the writing was fun and there was a few pretty recent pop culture references that made me chuckle. If you're after something quick and easy to read, this one's for you.

Reading Soundtrack:

A Change Would Do You Good: Sheryl Crow: Dress You Up: Madonna; Don't Make Me Over: Dionne Warwick; Work B*tch: Britney Spears; I Get It: Kate Voegele; Glitter In The Air: Pink; Open Your Eyes: Snow Patrol

For lovers of

Sophie Kinsella, Jill Mansell and ‘How to lose a guy in 10 days’

This post was written by regular reviewer Ria, get to know her here.

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Blogger's Bookshelf Review Round Up #1

Saturday, 1 December 2012

Blogger's Bookshelf Review Round Up #1

Welcome to the first of our monthly round ups here on Blogger's Bookshelf. 

Missed any of our review? Never fear! Find them all here!

• Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan | Reviewed by Ria
• About A Boy by Nick Hornby | Reviewed by Erin
• His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman | Reviewed by Elle
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green | Reviewed by Taylah
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer | Reviewed by Laura
• Feed by Mira Grant | Reviewed by Niina
• Looking for Alaska by John Green | Reviewed by Francesca
• Before I Die by Jenny Downham | Reviewed by Lucy
• Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky | Reviewed by Ria
• Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger | Reviewed by guest blogger Anjali
• Zom-B by Darren Shan | Reviewed By Erin
• The Casual Vacancy by J.K Rowling | Reviewed by Elle
• Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella | Reviewed by Taylah
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll | Reviewed by Laura
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman | Reviewed by Niina
• A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness | Reviewed by guest blogger Nazneen
• The Lying Game by Sara Shepard | Reviewed by Francesca
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett | Reviewed by Lucy
• Delirium by Lauren Oliver | Reviewed by Ria
• Shift by Em Bailey | Reviewed by Erin

Plus, don't forget to check out our November collaboration post on our Favourite Genres and get involved in our next collaboration post by letting us know your Top 5 Reads of the Year. Tweet us or email us your answers by 19th December!

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Blogger’s Bookshelf Review Round Up #9

Saturday, 13 July 2013

Blogger’s Bookshelf Review Round Up #9

*all images via GoodReads

Another month over, check out what you missed below… 

Alone by Robert J.Crane | Review by Anjali 

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella | Review by Laura 

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen | Reviewed by guest blogger Lulu 

World War Z: An Oral History Of The Zombie War by Max Brooks | Reviewed by Niina 

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor | Reviewed by Ria 

The Elite by Kiera Cass | Reviewed by Erin 

Blackbirds by Chuck Wending | Reviewed by Niina 

Charlotte Street by Danny Wallace | Reviewed by Lucy 

Harry: A History by Melissa Anelli | Reviewed by Ria 

Shallow Pond by Alissa Grosso | Reviewed by Erin

Our bloggers also updated us on how they’re getting on with their 2013 Reading Goals. 

They also clued us in on where they would like to be spending their perfect fictional Summer holiday in our 'Wish You Were Where?!' group collaboration post! 

Next month we're revisiting May's subject of book covers. Previously we gathered your opinions on how important book covers are and what influence they have on your reading choices. 

So, for August's post we want you to let us know what your....

favourite book covers are! 

Let us know you opinions by email, tweet us or on our GoodReads page!

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